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W WIGGIN. ELECTRICAL RAIL BOND.

No. 591,516. Patented Oct. 12,1897.

T 3 1 a} I 3 a up mll n I 1 a/ I J7 a ll WITNESS. I [NYE/ TORI g & 9imam vi I' By v J-O'f w. 'MMM4 Q1 UNITED STATES WVILLIAM H. WIGGIN, OFIVORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN ELECTRICAL WORKS, OFPROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

ELECTRICAL RAIL-BOND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 591,516, dated October12, 1897.

Application filed April 26,1897.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. WIGGIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Worcester, county of Worcester,State ofMassachus'etts, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrical Rail-Bonds,of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification. 1

My invention relates to a bond for electrically connecting the meetingends of rails in an electrically-operated railway; and my inventionconsists in an electrical rail-bond composed of a flat-sided platehaving, preferably, an edgewise bend or curve and carrying at its endslaterally-projecting terminals adapted to seat in and to the web of therail, and the portion of the plate between the terminal ends having apartial fiatwise twist, substantially as hereinafter set forth and forthe purpose hereinafter described.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of an electrical rail'bondcontaining my invention, and Fig.2 is a sectional planof the same shownseatedto and uniting the meeting ends of railway-rails.

My improved rail-bond is composed of a plate .A, preferably of copper orother electrically-conductive material, which plate is fiat-sided andpreferably has an edgewise curve, as shown in Fig. 1, desirably uniformthroughout its length.

At the respective ends a of the plate, and preferably projecting fromthe same side face thereof, the terminal studs a are provided, adaptedto seat in suitable corresponding apertures in the respective meetingends of rails B B, as illustratedin Fig. 2. These terminal studs may beof any known form desired.

Those illustrated in the drawings are simple cylindrical-studs adaptedto be driven into or otherwise forcibly seated in the rail-apertures andtohave their ends projecting beyond the face of the rail-web turned orriveted-down thereon, as at o The body or portion a of the plate Abetween the aforesaid terminal ends has a partial flatwise twist, asshown plainly in Fig.2. It is essential that the said twist in the bodySerial No. 633,909. (No model.)

:of the plate should be a partial one, and preferably a twist whichinclines the faces of the body a something less than about forty-fivedegrees to the faces of the terminal ends,which latter should desirablybe in parallel planes, as sh0wn,'as otherwise, and if the twist besubstantially greater, the lateral dimension of the bond-body would beso increased as to impair the utility of the bond in carrying out oneobject of the inVention-namely, the seating of the bond between therail-web and the fish-plate C.

The described twist may be given to the bond by means of suitable diesor analogous tools or in any other known manner.

It is evident that a rail-bond constructed as described may be seated inand to the web of the'meeting ends of rails between the same and thefish-plate, as illustrated in Fig. 2, and that the bond will thus becovered and protected by the fish-plate; and it is further evident thatthe described partial flatwise twist in the hon d-body will act toafford a torsional spring action in the bond-body and thus more or-lessrelieve the seated terminals from strain, which would otherwise tend toloosen them in their seats, due to thermometric changes and traffic.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. An electrical rail-bond composed of a flat-sided plate, provided onone of its side faces at its respective ends with terminal studs adaptedto seat in apertures in the web of the meeting ends of rails, and havinga partial, flatwise twist in its central portion or body, between saidterminals, substan- 'tially as and for the purpose specified.

2. An electrical rail-bond composed of an edgeWise-curved,flat-sidedplate, provided on one of its side faces at its respective ends withterminal studs adapted to seat in apertures in the Web of the meetingends of rails, and

having a partial, fiatwise twist in its central portion or body, betweensaidterminals, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

WVILLIAM H. WIGGIN. Witnesses:

MARVIN M. TAyLoR, WILLIS E. SIBLEY.

